5 Reasons Landlords Deny Applications

Was your apartment application recently denied? It’s definitely a common day occurrence. Today it’s important for landlords and apartment managers to carefully survey each application. Choose the wrong tenant and it will surely cost someone a significant amount of time and money. Trusting renters can open up a can of worms. So it’s imperative to go over their background and history with a fine tooth comb. Here are 5 reasons that apartment management will deny your approval.

Bad Credit

More and more, major companies as well as private owners and landlords are looking at overall credit scores of renters. It can give them a great idea into the payment history of a prospective tenant. If a renter has charge offs from credit cards or a phone bill they never paid, that can create some risk. Do you trust them to make their timely rent payments. If/when they are late, additional fees will be added and it can make their rent even harder to pay.

The Income doesn’t Check Out

It’s always a good idea to require the tenants to make a certain amount of money per month when they apply for their next residence. Many larger management companies request at least 3.5 times the monthly rent. So if rent is $800 a month, the renters should at least make $3000 a month. After taxes and other bills this is a safety net many are comfortable with. If you start accepting people who make less, you may find yourself having to evict a potential tenant. It’s not good enough to simply assume a renter won’t apply if they don’t make enough. Some know very well in advance they don’t plan on making the rent payments.

You Lied

Tenants lie all the time. Landlords have access to a plethora of tools. They can access your rental history, check for a criminal background, or even look for your social media profiles to check out just what kind of person you are.

Renters lie about their rental history. If you have a broken lease or eviction, it’s better to just be upfront with the leasing agent or staff. Applications fees and deposits will be paid upfront, and you have the potential to lose those monies. Plus it’s possible that management may still be willing to work with you. Lie about it, and you most likely will be denied .

The References you Gave were Bogus

You must assume that your references will be check out. Remember all the tools available to landlords today, many still like to verify manually. Calling previous landlords, or contacting your employers is standard for many. Again, if you lie, your going to be denied.

Landlords are looking to make sure you paid your rent on-time and that you actually work where you say you do. When it’s hard to verify the information, it’s easier just to find someone else to lease the vacant space to.

Criminal History

Violent crimes and drug activity can be automatic grounds for denial. Owners and management have to lookout for the other renters who live on the premises. There normally is no latitude or exceptions for any convictions for these 2 types of crime. There are laws that management must operate by regarding these classes of crime.